Countdown to 92.3 going KA-BOOM!

[Seltzer]

Thing is, will a 660/92.3 simulcast make more money than WFAN + 92.3 Now combined? Or perhaps they could move WFAN to 92.3, WINS to 660, and sell 1010. The New York sports teams have fans who live further than the 40 dBu contour of the FM stations. The Yankees have fans all over, and WCBS's skywave reaches those fans (at least for the night games)

Nah..keep an AM'FM simulcast of the Fan.

[johndavis]

There is precedence for bringing in a new PD shortly before a format switch at CBS Radio: in San Diego, PD Charese Fruge was brought in to Sophie 103.7 (Hot AC/modern AC) a few months ago. Then a little over a month ago the format was changed to CHR (Energy 103.7) and Fruge (after a month with the new format) has since gone back to Las Vegas where she had been already overseeing 2 stations through the whole process.

Could it happen again?

Except that Charese had been the PD of Sophie for a few years. Then she began to oversee Mix in Las Vegas in addition to her duties at Sophie... then they added a second station in Vegas to her load a few months ago before the format flip sent her full time to Vegas. So that's not a valid comparison.

[ansky212]

If CBS was simply going to use 92.3 as a simulcast of WFAN (or move it to 92.3 completely), why would they need a new PD?  Wouldn't they just use the existing PD at WFAN?

[ncountysurf]

If CBS was simply going to use 92.3 as a simulcast of WFAN (or move it to 92.3 completely), why would they need a new PD?  Wouldn't they just use the existing PD at WFAN?

He's referencing the fact that there's a fairly new PD at 92.3 Now/WXRK who was brought in from Arizona. 

[Nick]

Right now WFAN is earning 8 times the revenue of ESPN. An FM simulcast at this point will not generate more revenue than 92.3 Now. Obviously ESPN's revenue will increase. I think the total revenue for NYC's sports stations will increase, as many of ESPN's new listeners will not come from WFAN, but from people who don't listen to AM radio. People who like the shows on WFAN will continue to listen to 660, unless their favorite hosts move to ESPN.

But if I were working at Now, I'd start sending out resumes. That may be what the staff is doing now, and hence they're leaving on their own terms for a new job.

Chunky is supposed to move to DC at WPGC soon.

[d21ofnj]

So are we gonna get St. John back as the VO now or will Dr. Dave stick around this time? 

[WNTIRadio]

Right now WFAN is earning 8 times the revenue of ESPN. An FM simulcast at this point will not generate more revenue than 92.3 Now. Obviously ESPN's revenue will increase. I think the total revenue for NYC's sports stations will increase, as many of ESPN's new listeners will not come from WFAN, but from people who don't listen to AM radio. People who like the shows on WFAN will continue to listen to 660, unless their favorite hosts move to ESPN.

But if I were working at Now, I'd start sending out resumes. That may be what the staff is doing now, and hence they're leaving on their own terms for a new job.

Chunky is supposed to move to DC at WPGC soon

But here's the part of the equation nobody has mentioned yet:  How much does it cost to run 92.3 now?  As in, what's the net profit.

To simulcast, it costs CBS nothing except the electric bill.  Any additional gain in revenue goes right to the bottom line.  So if 92.3 now grosses $17 million but costs $13 to run, and CBS can make an additional $10 million by simulcasting, guess what's going to happen?

If ESPN takes away listeners from the Fan and men 25-54 starts to go down, you can bet that 92.3 will be "then", now.

[radioguy39nj]

I don't think CBS is taking ESPN's move to 98.7 lightly.  I mentioned on one of these threads (perhaps this one) that Rick Gillette better not unpack his bags.  He's apparently already gone. 

I think the simulcast will begin before the first Giants pre-season football game.  If it overlaps the Mets, baseball can go to 660, football to 92.3.  The WFAN simulcast is inevitable.

[donta1974]

Right now WFAN is earning 8 times the revenue of ESPN. An FM simulcast at this point will not generate more revenue than 92.3 Now. Obviously ESPN's revenue will increase. I think the total revenue for NYC's sports stations will increase, as many of ESPN's new listeners will not come from WFAN, but from people who don't listen to AM radio. People who like the shows on WFAN will continue to listen to 660, unless their favorite hosts move to ESPN.

But if I were working at Now, I'd start sending out resumes. That may be what the staff is doing now, and hence they're leaving on their own terms for a new job.

Chunky is supposed to move to DC at WPGC soon.

Is Chunky really moving to WPGC seems to me that should have been announced by now. Also Rick Gillette is a very good PD he will be ok but he should have stayed in Phoenix

[1069_KIFR]

Is Chunky Voice Tracked to Detroit?